A aerial flyover of Mexico Beach shows widespread destruction and the one beachfront house that survived largely unscathed.Gif: Brandon Clement via Storyful

In the sea of destruction that is Mexico Beach, the Sand Palace stands out like an oasis. Hurricane Michael’s wind and waves pitched lesser domiciles off their moorings, tore roofs away, or simply obliterated them. But as numerousnews outletshave observed, the stately white house at the end of 36th St. withstood the storm largely unscathed.

The New York Times broke the story of the house that was “supposed to be a fortress” according to Russell King, one of the owners. He, along with his uncle Lebron Lackey, had built Sand Palace to withstand the big one, in part because they accept the science of climate change and the risk of more intense hurricanes. But if their house is a monument to adaptation done right, it’s also a reminder of how unprepared we as a society are for the climate disasters of the future. And it’s a reminder adapting to climate change is not something we can do at the individual level alone.

CNN chronicled a few of the house’s beyond code qualities that include being built to withstand 240 mph winds (state building code is 120 mph), standing atop 40-foot concrete pilings to handle storm surge, and concrete walls and rebar as well as steel girders. All that, of course, comes with a price tag.

Advertisement

The architect who built the house estimated its fortress-like nature doubled the price of construction; Lackey told CNN it raised it 10-15 percent. However much Sand Palace cost to fortify, that’s money not everyone has.

Our current government (at the federal level at least) is actively failing on both climate mitigation and adaptation. At a time when more stringent regulations are needed, the Trump administration is rolling back as many as possible. Its efforts will destabilize the climate further, making the adaptation hill that much steeper to climb.

The scene in Mexico Beach is a microcosm of these issues. What King and Lackey built is amazing, but it also reminds us that whilepeople with means and the will to make climate adaptation investments will be able to eke out a few more years on the water, the rest are at risk of losing it all.